Laughter is the Best …

Not long ago, a coworker came into my office, plopped down in a chair and said, “Tell me something funny. If I don’t laugh right now, I am going to cry!” Without pausing to ask her what was wrong, I launched into a story about the time my mom accidently somersaulted out of our large inflatable pool.

My mom and I had been relaxing in the backyard pool, she on the lower end of the sloped yard and me on the high end. Well, that is, as much as she could relax with her grandkids making a whirlpool with their bodies. Mom had each arm slung over the top inflated ring and her face to the sky. All of a sudden, the water started rushing toward and past her over the side of the pool. Her legs began to lift up and I realized she was going to topple out. I quickly grabbed her foot but it was too late; the water upended her and she landed splayed out in the sopping wet grass as the pool emptied its contents within seconds. We just stood there flabbergasted in the flat plastic liner, wondering what had happened. Our dog Coco was nearby and, in all the excitement, took the opportunity to give Mom a nice kiss on the mouth. I started to laugh and yelled out, “Are you okay?” She croaked, “Yeah, except your dog just stuck her tongue down my throat!”

With that, I broke out in hysterical laughter.

For the next couple of hours and for days to come, we all continued to laugh at the hilarious image in our minds of Gramma flipping out of the pool. Some might think that I am a terrible daughter for laughing but I assure you, if it had been me, she would have done the same. It’s kind of a family thing that we do, laugh at other people’s misfortunes though not in a mean way. Most often, we just laugh at ourselves when we do silly things, especially when we are together. Thankfully on that day, it wasn’t a serious spill and it turned out to be one of our favorite family stories.

I have had many a good laugh all by myself, too. A couple of years ago, I had an adventure when I took a wrong turn in Sunland Park. I was part of a group to be honored by the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council for our work in opposing the condos proposed for the Verdugo Hills Golf Course site. I arrived late to the meeting because I didn’t realize the venue had changed and there were no parking spaces left in the main lot. I pulled back out onto the street, intending to find a space near the senior center but apparently, in the dark, I re-entered the park in the wrong spot. The next thing I knew, I was driving down a pedestrian walkway, past benches and around trees with people gawking. I realized then that I had made a terrible mistake but was fully committed to traverse the hill. I couldn’t turn around. When I got to the bottom of the path, there was no way to jump the curb into the senior lot and I had no choice but to make a seven-point turn and go back the way I came – all the while, whipping and dragging assorted tree branches. By the time I parked and found the meeting, the agenda item had passed. I had quite a good laugh at my own expense and conceded that having an amusing story was enough thanks for me.

My coworker seemed to enjoy my pool story and I think it took her mind off things. It is a good reminder that, when times seem their toughest, laughter can be very healing, the best kind of medicine.